Steinbach Regional volleyball teams aiming high this season

If junior varsity results and early season rankings are anything to go by, Steinbach Regional Secondary School could have an outstanding year on the volleyball court.

The school’s varsity girls team has many of the players that won the junior varsity provincial championship two years ago, only losing a single match in that season. The boys team is looking strong as well, defeating the number one team in the province, St Paul’s, in a tournament final Sept. 28 to take over top spot in the power rankings.

“This team has a really good dynamic right off the bat,” head coach Kyle Martens said.

“It’s probably the deepest team we’ve had in a while, there’s a lot of talent on this team. It’s a fun group, we’re learning lots of things on and off the court. Everyone brings the fire every night.”

The boys team seems to have endless options and is strong all around the court in attack and defense. Martens said he’s still trying to figure out how to bring the best out of such a balanced group.

“We don’t have many practices now in October, we play a lot,” he said.

“So a lot of it is learning from film. We’re trying to get guys into game situations so they can learn in game situations.”

The goal for the squad, like most quality high school volleyball teams in the province, is to make the provincial semi-finals which are hosted at the University of Manitoba.

“I think this team has the talent, and they have the work ethic and the character to get there too,” Martens said.

“At the end of the day, we’re hoping to enjoy the process and these guys can learn some stuff along the way.”

The girls had a strong performance last weekend as well, finishing third in the Royal Rumble tournament in Selkirk. Both teams moved to 3-0 in the South Central Athletic Conference league play on the season, defeating J.H. Bruns in straight sets Sept. 29 in Steinbach.

Those results moved the Sabres from seventh to fifth in the AAAA provincial power rankings.

“We have a lot of potential,” head coach Amy Toews said.

“We’re still figuring out some quirks and figuring out who works well together.”

The challenge for Toews this season is how to manage a large roster. With so many players on the bench, figuring out the best line-up isn’t the simplest task for coaches.

“They honestly all have such good attitudes and have been working well together in practice,” Toews said.

“I’m excited about it.”

It’s clear there is still room for the team to grow, as sometimes the Sabres struggle to win clean points when receiving serves.

“Volleyball is such a mental game, and a game of energy and momentum too,” Toews said.

“I think those are just growing pains in the early season.”

The Sabres varsity teams played league games against Northlands after press time Oct. 1. They’ll next host games at home when they host Louis-Riel (boys) and Westgate (girls) Oct. 7.

For more photos of varsity volleyball, and other events, check out Carillon Sports Second Shots, published every Wednesday on thecarillon.com.